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I'm 28 and have no prior martial arts experience. After doing some research, I found Aikido the most attractive MA because it appears to be challenging and promotes a general philosophy I agree with. Now I'm just wondering how older beginners generally fare in class. Do you have to start when your five years old to develop the "right stuff" for MA?

I started Judo at the age of 6 and various martial arts b`coz im a Filipino I also need to learn our native martial arts i.g. knife fighting & Kali and started Aikido when I was 12 till to day Im 26 still practice the art and established my Dojo 4 yrs. ago.

speaking of (MA) Mastering the art It depends on how sincere an individual is in its degree of learning. IMHO there is a long way to go in Mastering the martial Art Aikido. and lots of way in Mastering it.

I'm 28 and have no prior martial arts experience. After doing some research, I found Aikido the most attractive MA because it appears to be challenging and promotes a general philosophy I agree with. Now I'm just wondering how older beginners generally fare in class. Do you have to start when your five years old to develop the "right stuff" for MA?

Not at all! 28 is still a ripe young age to begin the journey. MANY have begun their studies at a much older age in the arts. Aikido is even more age forgiving as it is not based on strength or size. Once you learn how to take Ukemi, you are all set.

Good questions always appear again, like perennial flowers in the spring and summer! Nice to see the "new faces".....

sorry about the poetic similes and metaphors... I think I will ask my husband for a nice nikyo so I will stop daydreaming.

Oh yes, about 22, I had a couple of years of judo at college and the teacher's cousin who was teaching downtown where Linda, a friend of mine and I also attended taught about three months of Aikido before we graduated. In November, of that year found dojo in NY, stayed for about seven years, stayed in Japan for a year and a half after a three week tour, came home to CT and the local Y's new building were looking for new classes.... taught there for almost eight years.... then complications set in, job change, non training related knee injury, marriage etc. (Met my husband at the Y in 1980)

Did a little practice since 1980's but not much. We're trying to get back into it now, at 67 (me) and 55 (him). This thread has a good subtopic -- when you started and when you restarted

I started when I was 15 and for me that was great - old enough not to be distracted by puberty (as I was probably already in the middle of it when I decided to start... ), still young enogh to enjoy the fun of youth training...